A rugby-mad pub landlord has marked the arrival of the World Cup by turning his boozer into a GRASS PITCH.

James Bambury, 32, has spent £500 laying turf on every inch of his 65 square metre bar after being dared to do it by a punter. The co-owner of the Bull Pub in Broughton Astley, Leics., even has goal posts, corner flags and markings to get drinkers into the World Cup mood. Dad-of-one James, from Kibworth, Leics., said: “It’s amazing what a bet with one of the locals can turn into. “It was banter in the bar. He challenged me and I said I would and not being a man to go back on his word, I went through with it three days ago.